You told me once that you have not seen war
you did not know how war smelt:
the dust of disgust accumulated,
hardened layers of dirty hatred
that formed the bedrock of frivolous minds.
You told me once that you have not read about war
glorified sordid stories of power retold
Stolen moments of heroes and villains
Pointless anecdotes of their pains and pleasures
that you and I fail to feel.
Long after the war was over
and the guns grew still
wounded minds refused to heal
leaving behind the impression of futility
and vehement lamentation of languid souls.
Long after the war was over
and the world outside grew smaller
you heard your shadow’s visceral voices as truth
and it was hard to see the point sometimes
when you were at war with yourself.
A series of serious and poignant reflections on the devastation caused by external and internal wars : wars of the world and wars within relationships and wars within the self
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Amita
Very interesting points raised in this poem dear Suma, food for thought.
Thank you, Pramila!
A superb,insightful,riveting,powerful narrative.
Honoured to receive that comment, sir! thank you!
This beautiful poem resonates our own thoughts about a war which we have only heard of and the clever subjective twist at the end is delectable.
Thank you for sharing your reflection, Madhumathy!